Rapid Beverage Chilling Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A rapid beverage chilling apparatus includes an inner reservoir, an electrical compartment, an impeller, a control wire cord, an outer reservoir, and a plurality of attachments. The inner reservoir includes a concentrically positioned beverage cavity and a plurality of drain holes. The electrical compartment, which includes a battery and a motor, is electrically connected with the wire cord. The electrical compartment also connected with the impeller and connected within the beverage cavity by the plurality of attachments. In order to chill a beverage container, the beverage container has to be positioned within the beverage cavity and placed on top of the impeller. When the rapid beverage chilling apparatus is switched on, the battery powers the motor which rotates the impeller. The impeller transports cold water from the outer reservoir, through the plurality of drain holes, into the beverage cavity to chill the beverage container.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 61/510,986 filed on Jul. 23, 2011. The currentapplication is filed in the U.S. on Jul. 23, 2012 while Jul. 22, 2012was on a weekend.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally an apparatus for rapidly coolingbeverages in containers from room temperature to a desired temperaturelevel. More specifically, the present invention utilizes a flow ofchilled water to cool the beverage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most beverages, such as soda, beer, and water, consume by many people inthe present society, and most of consumers' prefer to drink thosebeverages as cold beverages. Refrigerators and portable ice coolers useto chill beverage containers so that the cold beverages can be obtainedanywhere. The refrigerators and the portable ice coolers have one mainconcern when it comes to chilling beverage containers. The refrigeratorsand the portable ice coolers can't chill the beverage containers at arapid speed. Because of that, consumers often have to wait until thebeverage is cold enough or add ice cubes in the beverage so that thebeverage can be consumed at a cold stage. Waiting for a long time wastevaluable time of the consumers and putting the ice cubes dilute thebeverage by negatively affecting the flavor. As a solution for the aboveproblems, the present invention allows the consumers to rapidly chillthe beverage containers so that the consumers don't have to waste theirvaluable time waiting or comprise the flavor of the beverage. Thepresent invention chills each of the beverage containers to a desiredtemperature within a short amount of time, once the beverage containersare placed within the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an outer reservoir of present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the FIG. 1, showing the insidecomponents.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the present invention without theouter reservoir.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention without theouter reservoir.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the present invention without the outerreservoir.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention without theouter reservoir.

FIG. 7 is a detail scale view of the control wire cord of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the present invention without the outerreservoir.

FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of the inner reservoir of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of an electrical compartment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the electrical compartment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a cross section view of the FIG. 11, showing the insidecomponents.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the impeller of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the impeller of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a front view of the impeller of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a cross section view of the FIG. 15.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention is a beverage cooling apparatus that comprises aninner reservoir 1, an electrical compartment 2, an impeller 3, a controlwire cord 4, an outer reservoir 5, and a plurality of attachments 6. Inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, the outer reservoir 5is made from an insulating plastic material. In reference to FIG. 1 andFIG. 2, any type of insulated container that is bigger than the innerreservoir 1 can be considered as the outer reservoir 5. The control wirecord 4 is connected to the electrical compartment 2, and the electricalcompartment 2 is connected with the impeller 3 and positioned inside theinner reservoir 1. In order for the present invention to function, theinner reservoir 1 has to be placed within the outer reservoir 5 and theouter reservoir 5 has to be filled with ice cubes and some amount ofwater. The impeller 3 in the present invention pumps cold water throughthe inner reservoir 1 and cools a beverage container.

In reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 9 the inner reservoir 1 comprises aplurality of drain holes 11, a beverage cavity 12, a base 13, and aplurality of attachment holes 14. The inner reservoir is made from hardplastic or any other kind of corrosion free materials that can withstandconstant pressure. The beverage cavity 12 is concentrically positionedwithin the inner reservoir 1. The beverage cavity 12 is a recessed spaceon the top of the inner reservoir 1 that is shaped correspondingly tothe shape of the beverage container. In the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the beverage cavity 12 is cylindrically shaped. Thebeverage cavity 12 is not limited only to the cylindrical shape and canbe other shapes such as rectangular, triangular, or any other geometricshape. The beverage container that needs to be chilled is placed withinthe beverage cavity 12.

The plurality of drain holes 11 is traversed though the inner reservoir1 from the bottom. The plurality of drain holes 11 is positioned aroundthe inner reservoir 1, and the plurality of drain holes 11 allows coldwater to enter into the inner reservoir 1. Since the plurality of drainholes 11 is much smaller than the ice cubes, the cold water penetratesinto the inner reservoir 1 but the ice cubes do not enter into the innerreservoir 1.

The base 13 is positioned below the plurality of drain holes 11 andconnected to the inner reservoir 1 from the bottom. The weight of thebase 13 is considerably higher than all of the other components in thepresent invention so that the base 13 provides a stable platform for theinner reservoir 1. The plurality of attachment holes 14 is traversedthrough the base 13 where each of the plurality of attachment holes 14is ninety degrees apart and equally spaced between each other.

The electrical compartment 2 is a hermetically sealed compartment whichcomprises a motor 21, a shaft 22, a plurality of compartment holes 23,and a battery 24. The plurality of compartment holes 23 is positioned onthe bottom of the electrical compartment 2. In reference to FIG. 10,each of the plurality of compartment holes 23 is a cavity where the eachof the plurality of compartment holes 23 is ninety degrees apart andequally spaced between each other. In reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 8,the plurality of compartment holes 23 is concentrically aligned with theplurality of attachment holes 14, and the plurality of attachments 6traverses through the plurality of attachment holes 14 and into theplurality of compartment holes 23. The plurality of attachments 6hermetically attaches the electrical compartment 2 into the base 13. Inreference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the battery 24 and the motor 21 arepositioned within the electrical compartment 2. The battery 24 isadjacently positioned with the plurality of compartment holes 23 and themotor 21 is positioned above the battery 24. The battery 24 iselectrically connected with the motor 21 where the battery 24 functionsas the power source for the motor 21. In the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, a 12 volt rechargeable battery is used as the battery24. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, differentvoltage rechargeable batteries can be used as the battery 24. The shaft22 is a rotatable component which traverses out of the motor 21. Theshaft 22 is inserted through the electrical compartment 2 and connectedwith the impeller 3.

In reference to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the impeller 3 comprises aplurality of fins 31, a top surface 32, an inside surface 34, and anouter rim 35. The impeller is made from hard plastic or any other kindof corrosion free materials that can withstand constant rotationalmovements. The top surface 32 and the inside surface 34 are adjacentlyand oppositely positioned from each other. The top surface 32 comprisesan outer edge 33 which securely keeps the beverage container on themiddle of the top surface 32 by not allowing the beverage container tomove around in the top surface 32. The top surface 32 is shaped into aslight dome so that the beverage container can be firmly positioned overthe top surface 32 since most beverage containers have a round containerbottom. The outer rim 35 is positioned around the top surface 32 and theinside surface 34 and extends towards the base 13 creating a hollowspace inside of the impeller 3. In reference to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, theouter rim 35 comprises a first outer rim 36 and a second outer rim 37where the first outer rim 36 is larger than the second outer rim 37. Thefirst outer rim 36 is adjacently positioned with the top surface 32while the second outer rim 37 is adjacently positioned with the base 13.The electrical compartment 2 is centrally placed within the hollow spacewhere the shaft 22 is concentrically connected with the inside surface34, connecting the motor 21 with the impeller 3. In reference to FIG. 5,the plurality of fins 31 is equally spaced and positioned around theouter rim 35 at a 45 degree angle. Clearance space between the base 13and the outer rim 35 is kept to a minimum distance so that the presentinvention is able to transfer a low level of cold water into thebeverage cavity 12.

In reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the control wire cord 4 comprises afirst end 44, a second end 45, a switch 41, a timer 43, a variable speedcontroller unit 46, and a power connector 42. The first end 44 iselectrically connected with the electrical compartment 2. The switch 41,the timer 43, the variable speed controller unit 46, and the powerconnector 42 are electrically connected to the control wire cord 4 fromthe second end 45. The switch 41 allows the users to turn on and turnoff the present invention by turning the switch 41 into an on positionand an off position. The power connector 42 allows the users to rechargethe battery 24 when the battery 24 is depleted. To recharge the depletedbattery 24, users need to connect the power connecter with a correctpower outlet. The users can set a specific amount of time on the presentinvention through the timer 43 so that the motor 21 can be stopped afterthe specific amount of time. Since different beverage containers containdifferent sizes, the variable speed controller unit 46 allows the usersto control the rotational speed of the motor 21. For example, a smallerbeverage container requires slower rotational speed compare to a biggerbeverage container because of the weight difference of the beveragecontainers. The users are able to select the desired speed of the motor21 through the variable speed controller unit 46.

Once the beverage container is placed within the beverage cavity 12, thebeverage container sits on the top surface 32 of the impeller 3. Sincesome beverage containers have less buoyancy than others, those beveragecontainers may be unable to rotate within the beverage cavity 12,because those beverage containers do not sit on the top surface 32. Byadding a rotational component between the floating beverage containerand the top surface 32, any type of beverage containers can be rotatedwithin the beverage cavity 12 for quicker chilling. The users of thepresent invention can activate the present invention by turning theswitch 41 into the on position. When the present invention is activated,the battery 24 provides the necessary power to the motor 21, whichrotates the impeller 3 within the beverage cavity 12. The rotation ofthe impeller 3 also rotates the beverage container within the beveragecavity 12 with respect to the beverage container's longitudinal axes foreffective chilling. The output of the impeller 3 rotation pulls the coldwater out from the outer reservoir 5 through the plurality of drainholes 11 and creates a whirling flow of cold water within the beveragecavity 12 that is also known as a whirlpool effect. The velocity of thecold water increases when the cold water travels from the second outerrim 37 of the impeller 3 to the first outer rim 36 of the impeller 3creating a jet effect. The velocity difference takes place inside thebeverage cavity 12 because the area between the first outer rim 36 andthe beverage cavity 12 is smaller than the area between second outer rim37 and the beverage cavity 12. Since the whirling flow of cold watercontinually flows through the beverage cavity 12, the beverage containerrapidly cools down into lower temperatures due to the increase velocityof the cold water. When the whirling flow of cold water from the innerreservoir 1 envelops the beverage container, the cold water draws heatfrom the beverage container for a predetermined time period toeffectively chill the beverage container. The predetermined time periodfor chilling a specific beverage container is dependent on thecomposition, the volume, the container material, and the desiredtemperature level of the beverage. Since the inner reservoir 1 only hasone beverage cavity 12, the cold water over flows the inner reservoir 1from the top. Then the overflowed water from the top of the innerreservoir 1 travels back into the outer reservoir 5 to be cycled. Theheat from the beverage container is exchanged through the beveragecontainer walls to the cold water as the cold water is cycled. As aresult, the temperature of the beverage is lowered. This temperatureexchange occurs rapidly due to the constant rotation of the beveragecontainer within the beverage cavity 12 and the whirlpool effect of thecold water.

To ensure the ice and water in the present invention remains chilled,the present invention may optionally comprise of a cover to prevent anyexternal heat from entering the outer reservoir 5 and the innerreservoir 1. As a result, the beverage chiller can be placed in acompletely insulated environment for optimal cooling.

The inner reservoir 1 in the present invention may optionally have adownspout which may comprise a spout rim and a plurality of down spoutcavities. The spout rim can be an angular rim which may comprise ahigher end rim and lower end rim where the higher end rim can bepositioned inside of the lower end rim. Due to the positioning of thehigher end rim and the lower end rim, a downward slope can be createdfrom the higher end rim to the lower end rim. The spout rim may betraversed through the inner reservoir 1 just below the top where thehigher end rim can be positioned within the inner reservoir 1, and thelower end rim can be positioned outside of the inner reservoir 1. Thespout rim can catch the splashing cold water from the present inventionso that the cold water can be drained back into the outer reservoir 5.The plurality of down spout cavities allows the cold water to drain intothe outer reservoir 5. The plurality of down spout cavities can beadjacently positioned with the spout rim from above and below. Due tothe positioning of the higher end rim and the lower end rim, theplurality of down spouts can be hidden within the present invention tocreate an aesthetically pleasing look.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

1. A rapid beverage chilling apparatus comprises, an inner reservoir; anelectrical compartment; an impeller; a control wire cord; an outerreservoir; a plurality of attachments; the inner reservoir comprises aplurality of drain holes, a beverage cavity, a base, and a plurality ofattachment holes; the electrical compartment comprises a motor, a shaft,a plurality of compartment holes, and a battery; the impeller beingcentrally connected with the electrical compartment; the electricalcompartment being attached to the inner reservoir by the plurality ofattachments; the control wire cord being connected to the electricalcompartment; and the inner reservoir being positioned within the outerreservoir.
 2. The rapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 1comprises, the beverage cavity being concentrically positioned withinthe inner reservoir; the plurality of drain holes being traversedthrough the inner reservoir from the bottom; the base being positionedbelow the plurality of drain holes and connected to the inner reservoir;and the plurality of attachment holes being concentrically traversedthrough the base.
 3. The rapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed inclaim 1 comprises, the plurality of compartment holes being positionedon the electrical compartment from the bottom; the battery being locatedwithin the electrical compartment and positioned above the plurality ofcompartment holes; the motor being located within the electricalcompartment and positioned above the battery; the battery beingelectrically connected with the motor; the shaft being movably connectedto the motor and positioned above the motor; and the shaft beinginserted through the electrical compartment.
 4. The rapid beveragechilling apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprises, the plurality ofcompartment holes being aligned with the plurality of attachment holes;and the plurality of attachments being inserted into the plurality ofcompartment holes through the plurality of attachment holes.
 5. Therapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprises, theimpeller comprises a plurality of fins, a top surface, an insidesurface, and an outer rim; the top surface being positioned above theinside surface and comprises an outer edge; the outer edge beingconnected around the top surface; the outer rim being positioned aroundthe top surface and the inside surface; the plurality of fins beingequally spaced around the outer rim; the plurality of fins beingconnected to the outer rim; and the inside surface being concentricallyconnected with the shaft.
 6. The rapid beverage chilling apparatusclaimed in claim 5 comprises, the outer rim comprises a first outer rimand a second outer rim; the first outer rim being larger than the secondouter rim; and the first outer rim being adjacently positioned with theouter edge and the second outer rim being positioned below the firstouter rim.
 7. The rapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 1comprises, the control wire cord comprises a first end, a second end, aswitch, a timer, a variable speed controller unit, and a powerconnector; the first end being electrically connected with electricalcompartment; the switch, the timer, the variable speed controller unit,and the power connector being connected to the second end; the switchbeing electrically connected with the control wire cord from the secondend; the variable speed controller unit being electrically connectedwith the control wire cord from the second end; the timer beingelectrically connected with the control wire cord from the second end;and the power connector being electrically connected with the controlwire cord from the second end.
 8. A rapid beverage chilling apparatuscomprises, an inner reservoir; an electrical compartment; an impeller; acontrol wire cord; an outer reservoir; a plurality of attachments; theinner reservoir comprises a plurality of drain holes, a beverage cavity,a base, and a plurality of attachment holes; the electrical compartmentcomprises a motor, a shaft, a plurality of compartment holes, and abattery; the impeller comprises a plurality of fins, a top surface, aninside surface, and an outer rim; the control wire cord comprises afirst end, a second end, a switch, a timer, and a power connector; theimpeller being centrally connected with the electrical compartment; theelectrical compartment being attached to the inner reservoir by theplurality of attachments; the control wire cord being connected to theelectrical compartment; and the inner reservoir being positioned withinthe outer reservoir.
 9. The rapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed inclaim 8 comprises, the beverage cavity being concentrically positionedwithin the inner reservoir; the plurality of drain holes being traversedthrough the inner reservoir from the bottom; the base being positionedbelow the plurality of drain holes and connected to the inner reservoir;and the plurality of attachment holes being concentrically traversedthrough the base.
 10. The rapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed inclaim 8 comprises, the plurality of compartment holes being positionedon the electrical compartment from the bottom; the battery being locatedwithin the electrical compartment and positioned above the plurality ofcompartment holes; the motor being located within the electricalcompartment and positioned above the battery; the battery beingelectrically connected with the motor; the shaft being movably connectedto the motor and positioned above the motor; and the shaft beinginserted through the electrical compartment.
 11. The rapid beveragechilling apparatus claimed in claim 8 comprises, the plurality ofcompartment holes being aligned with the plurality of attachment holes;and the plurality of attachments being inserted into the plurality ofcompartment holes through the plurality of attachment holes.
 12. Therapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 8 comprises, the topsurface being positioned above the inside surface and comprises an outeredge; the outer edge being connected around the top surface; the outerrim being positioned around the top surface and the inside surface; theplurality of fins being equally spaced around the outer rim; theplurality of fins being connected to the outer rim; and the insidesurface being concentrically connected with the shaft.
 13. The rapidbeverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 12 comprises, the outer rimcomprises a first outer rim and a second outer rim; the first outer rimbeing larger than the second outer rim; and the first outer rim beingadjacently positioned with the outer edge and the second outer rim beingpositioned below the first outer rim.
 14. The rapid beverage chillingapparatus claimed in claim 8 comprises, the control wire cord comprisesa first end, a second end, a switch, a timer, a variable speedcontroller unit, and a power connector; the first end being electricallyconnected with electrical compartment; the switch, the timer, thevariable speed controller unit, and the power connector being connectedto the second end; the switch being electrically connected with thecontrol wire cord from the second end; the variable speed controllerunit being electrically connected with the control wire cord from thesecond end; the timer being electrically connected with the control wirecord from the second end; and the power connector being electricallyconnected with the control wire cord from the second end.
 15. A rapidbeverage chilling apparatus comprises, an inner reservoir; an electricalcompartment; an impeller; a control wire cord; an outer reservoir; aplurality of attachments; the inner reservoir comprises a plurality ofdrain holes, a beverage cavity, a base, and a plurality of attachmentholes; the electrical compartment comprises a motor, a shaft, aplurality of compartment holes, and a battery; the impeller comprises aplurality of fins, a top surface, an inside surface, and an outer rim;the control wire cord comprises a first end, a second end, a switch, atimer, and a power connector; the impeller being centrally connectedwith the electrical compartment; the electrical compartment beingattached to the inner reservoir by the plurality of attachments; thecontrol wire cord being connected to the electrical compartment; and theinner reservoir being positioned within the outer reservoir.
 16. Therapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 15 comprises, thebeverage cavity being concentrically positioned within the innerreservoir; the plurality of drain holes being traversed through theinner reservoir from the bottom; the base being positioned below theplurality of drain holes and connected to the inner reservoir; and theplurality of attachment holes being concentrically traversed through thebase.
 17. The rapid beverage chilling apparatus claimed in claim 15comprises, the plurality of compartment holes being positioned on theelectrical compartment from the bottom; the battery being located withinthe electrical compartment and positioned above the plurality ofcompartment holes; the motor being located within the electricalcompartment and positioned above the battery; the battery beingelectrically connected with the motor; the shaft being movably connectedto the motor and positioned above the motor; the shaft being insertedthrough the electrical compartment; the plurality of compartment holesbeing aligned with the plurality of attachment holes; and the pluralityof attachments being inserted into the plurality of compartment holesthrough the plurality of attachment holes.
 18. The rapid beveragechilling apparatus claimed in claim 15 comprises, the top surface beingpositioned above the inside surface and comprises an outer edge; theouter edge being connected around the top surface; the outer rim beingpositioned around the top surface and the inside surface; the pluralityof fins being equally spaced around the outer rim; the plurality of finsbeing connected to the outer rim; and the inside surface beingconcentrically connected with the shaft.
 19. The rapid beverage chillingapparatus claimed in claim 18 comprises, the outer rim comprises a firstouter rim and a second outer rim; the first outer rim being larger thanthe second outer rim; and the first outer rim being adjacentlypositioned with the outer edge and the second outer rim being positionedbelow the first outer rim.
 20. The rapid beverage chilling apparatusclaimed in claim 15 comprises, the control wire cord comprises a firstend, a second end, a switch, a timer, a variable speed controller unit,and a power connector; the first end being electrically connected withelectrical compartment; the switch, the timer, the variable speedcontroller unit, and the power connector being connected to the secondend; the switch being electrically connected with the control wire cordfrom the second end; the variable speed controller unit beingelectrically connected with the control wire cord from the second end;the timer being electrically connected with the control wire cord fromthe second end; and the power connector being electrically connectedwith the control wire cord from the second end.